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    Applying Six-Sigma in The Service Industry: A Review and Case Study in Life Insurance Sector

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    renu90
    This document discusses the application of Six Sigma in the life insurance service industry. It provides an extensive literature review on services, Six Sigma, and applying Six Sigma methodology to improve service quality and processes. The study identifies, analyzes, and compares critical quality characteristics and key performance indicators of life insurance services to other service types. The findings will help both practitioners and researchers further understand how to implement Six Sigma in the service industry.

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    Applying Six-Sigma in The Service Industry: A Review and Case Study in Life Insurance Sector

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    renu90
    72 views3 pages
    This document discusses the application of Six Sigma in the life insurance service industry. It provides an extensive literature review on services, Six Sigma, and applying Six Sigma methodology to improve service quality and processes. The study identifies, analyzes, and compares critical quality characteristics and key performance indicators of life insurance services to other service types. The findings will help both practitioners and researchers further understand how to implement Six Sigma in the service industry.

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    Applying Six

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    This document discusses the application of Six Sigma in the life insurance service industry. It provides an extensive literature review on services, Six Sigma, and applying Six Sigma methodology to improve service quality and processes. The study identifies, analyzes, and compares critical quality characteristics and key performance indicators of life insurance services to other service types. The findings will help both practitioners and researchers further understand how to implement Six Sigma in the service industry.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    72 views3 pages

    Applying Six-Sigma in The Service Industry: A Review and Case Study in Life Insurance Sector

    Uploaded by

    renu90
    This document discusses the application of Six Sigma in the life insurance service industry. It provides an extensive literature review on services, Six Sigma, and applying Six Sigma methodology to improve service quality and processes. The study identifies, analyzes, and compares critical quality characteristics and key performance indicators of life insurance services to other service types. The findings will help both practitioners and researchers further understand how to implement Six Sigma in the service industry.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
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    Applying Six-Sigma in the Service Industry: A Review and Case Study in Life Insurance Sector

    With customers increasingly demanding full-scale solutions, insurance companies are more and more forced to continuously increase their portfolio of products and services. It is an extensive review on the services, six-sigma, and application of six-sigma in services. In order to improve service quality focus on service process is necessary. Sixsigma is a philosophy, a measure, and a methodology that provides the business with the perspective and tools to achieve new levels of performance both in services and products. A customer-focused methodology that drives out waste, raises levels of quality, and improves the financial performance of organizations to breakthrough levels. A case study is conducted in life insurance services to identify, analyze and compare critical to quality characteristics (CTQs) and KPIs with other types of services available in literature. This study will be helpful to both practitioners and researchers.

    All organizations operate in an environment of uncertainty. To be successful, an organization must anticipate changes and make plans to adapt itself to the environment. Without planning, an organization is like a boat without a rudder. By setting goals and deciding how to achieve them, planning provides a steering mechanism for an organization. Planning is the process of bridging the gap between where we are and where we want to be in the future. In other words, planning is looking ahead, relating todays events with tomorrows possibilities. It is the process of deciding in advance what to do, how to do, when to do it, and who does what. Proper planning minimizes risk and ensures that resources are efficiently and effectively utilized. Planning and controlling are inseparable. Planning involves determining organizational objectives and developing strategies to achieve the objectives, while controlling involves establishing standards of performance and comparing actual results with the planned results. Controlling without planning is meaningless. Unless one knows where to go, one cannot tell whether one is going in the right direction or not. Planning gives an organization the required focus and direction. Thus planning is a prerequisite of the control function. In this chapter, we will discuss the definition, nature and significance of planning, types of plans, steps in the planning process, prerequisites for effective planning and the limitations of planning.

    In simple words, planning is deciding in advance what action to take, how and when to take a particular action, and who are the people to be involved in it. It involves anticipating the future and consciously choosing the future course of action. According to Peter Drucker, Planning is a continuous process of making present entrepreneurial decisions (risk taking) systematically and with best possible knowledge of their futurity, organizing systematically the efforts needed to carry out these decisions and measuring the result of those decisions against the expectations through an organized systematic feedback. In the words of George R. Terry, Planning is the selecting and relating of facts and the making and using of assumptions regarding the future in the visualization and formulation of proposed activities believed necessary to achieve desired results. Thus, while planning, a manager makes use of facts and reasonable premises and also considers the relevant constraints. The manager then decides what activities are needed, how they are to be carried out and how they would contribute to the achievement of the desired results. Dalton E. McFarlands definition of planning takes into account the dynamic nature of the environment. He defines planning as follows: Planning is a concept of executive function that embodies the skills of anticipating, influencing and controlling the nature and direction of change. According to Heinz Weihrich and Harold Koontz, Planning involves selecting mission and objectives and the actions to achieve them; it requires decision-making that is, choosing from alternative future courses of action. Thus, planning involves determining organizational objectives and deciding how best to achieve them. It involves looking ahead and relating todays events with tomorrows possibilities.

    Planning is Goal-oriented Planning is a means for achieving set goals or objectives. It is of no value unless it contributes in some positive way to the achievement of desired goals. Well-defined goals are essential for effective planning. Planning is an Intellectual or Rational Process Planning requires managers to apply their imagination, creativity and their analytical skills to tackle problematic situations. Planning also requires foresight and sound judgement on the part of a manager. Thus, planning can be regarded as the outcome of an intellectual or rational process. Planning is a Primary Function Planning is the initial activity in the management process. All other functions of management, i.e. organizing, staffing, directing and controlling, can be carried out efficiently only if they have been properly planned. Planning thus precedes the execution of all other managerial functions. Planning is All-pervasive The planning function extends throughout the organization. It is an essential aspect of management at all executive levels. Managers at the top level prepare long-term plans for the organization, which would enable it to achieve its overall objectives. Middle-level managers formulate departmental and functional plans for the medium term, while managers at the lowest level prepare operating and short-term plans. Thus, the scope, extent and nature of planning tend to vary at different levels of

    management. Planning is Forward-looking Planning is primarily concerned with anticipating the future. Predicting future trends and preparing for them is an integral part of planning. Thus, accurate forecasting is essential for planning. Planning is a Perpetual Process Planning is a continuous activity; it goes on as long as an organization exists. Plans may be updated, modified, or replaced by new ones. When a situation calls for a totally new set of goals, new plans take the place of existing ones. Plans are changed or modified, but are never abandoned. Planning is an Integrated Process Plans made at different levels are interdependent and interrelated. The top level of an organization develops strategic plans, on the basis of which the middle level of management develops tactical plans. In turn, the lower levels of management develop operational plans on the basis of tactical plans. Thus, plans constitute a hierarchy in the organization. Even though plans are made at different levels, they should be in tandem with corporate objectives. These plans can be either long-term plans or short-term plans. Whatever be the term of the plans, they should be well coordinated so as to achieve the goals of the organization within a definite timehorizon.

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